Curriculum Mapping
Here are the pictures of my group's science standards. The arrows represent the standards we connected together between grades 4,5, and 6. If our group found no connections to the above or below grade, we drew brackets around the indicator. It's important for educators to know and make connections between these indicators because it shows the responsibility of the educators to make sure they are elaborating on topics as much as they should, as well as making sure that their students are capable of doing these things as the year goes on.
How does the material substantially connect to my students?
This material connects to my students because the standards are what I am required to teach in my classroom. Making sure that I know and understand the interrelated indicators for the grade above and below the grade I teach will ensure that my students know the information they are suppose to, and also help me understand how in depth I need to cover each topic. My students are expected to give their best when learning, and in return I need to give them the capability and opportunity to achieve that expectation. If I do not curriculum map as an educator, I am not giving my students the ability to learn to their full potential.
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How does this material connect to what affective teachers do?
Affective teachers know and understand the material that they are to teach their students, and how their grade level standards do or do not connect with the surrounding grades. It is important to know this as a teacher because not only do you need to make sure your students are prepared for the following grade, but it is our responsibility as teachers to make sure that they know enough about the topics they were taught in the previous grade. Especially when working with a team of teachers, collaboration when curriculum mapping is very important because there is technically no right or wrong answer to what you think about indicators connecting. However, when working with a team, there are more opinions and diversity which make it beneficial when finding what indicators connect or do not connect, which creates a more affective teaching environment.
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What are three themes that emerged from the material?
Three themes that emerged from the curriculum mapping are ICAN statements, assessment, and expectations. ICAN statements are important in curriculum mapping because students are able to see and know what they are suppose to learn, and what they should be able to do by the end of a unit or lesson. Assessment is important for curriculum mapping because teachers can ensure that their students are on the right track according to the indicators, and may be able to elaborate more on a topic according to students interests, which could carry over to another grades standard according to the curriculum mapping. Expectations are shown through curriculum mapping because it shows exactly what each teacher is responsible for teaching his or her students. The students are also able to know their expectations through ICAN statements.